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currant
c.1502, from raysyn of Curans (1334) "raisins of Corinth," with the -s- mistaken for a pl. inflection. From Anglo-Fr. reisin de Corauntz. The small, seedless raisins were exported from southern Greece. Then in 1578 the word was applied to an unrelated N. European berry (genus Ribes), recently introduced in England, on its resemblance to the raisins.
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